Nihue Rao offers a fresh, refined, and high-quality medicine. The ayahuasca vine is used to open the spiritual world and the chacruna leaves bring forth the visions within this world. When a shaman drinks the ayahuasca brew, he or she enters a medicinal state where he or she can call forth the spirits and doctors of the spirit world and connect anyone to the sacred medicine (click here to watch our Ayahuasca video presentation).

Ayahuasca Ceremonies

Ceremonies at Nihue Rao take place four times a week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. No ceremony is held on Wednesday, so that participants can rest and integrate their experience. Weekends are also dedicated to rest and integration.
Each ceremony starts at 8 p.m. Each participant comes forward individually to drink the medicine. (click here to watch our in side maloka video presentation).

However, participants are not required to drink ayahuasca to receive a spiritual treatment, and can simply choose to attend and enjoy the ceremony. Approximatively one hour after drinking the medicine, the full effect of the medicine experience opens and the shamans begin to sing to call good energies into the maloka. (click here to listen Ricardo's icaros).

Later in the night, each participant is called forward in front of the shaman’s mat to receive a personal medicinal song, or icaro, dedicated to his or her personal healing and spiritual intentions. The shaman may also smoke natural and local tobacco or spread perfumes to complete a treatment. A ceremony generally finishes between 1 and 2 a.m.

After the ceremony’s close, participants may return to their rooms for sleep, or chat and talk about their experiences with others and playing music. Ayahuasca is natural plant medicine that is used to heal. Typical effects may include nausea, vomiting, or going to the bathroom. Each person is given a bucket to use at his or her disposal, and toilets are located approximately 30 feet from the ceremonial maloka.

We also recommend the use of traditional shamanic tobacco, called mapacho, and/or perfumes to improve the healing experience.
During the ceremony, an experienced international team of staff members and shamanic apprentices of maestro Ricardo Amaringo are available and ready to give any kind of support and help to anyone during the nightly healing process.

Three days a week, after ceremony, participants gather to share ceremony and diet experiences and receive guidance from Maestro Ricardo Amaringo and/or other experienced facilitators. A professional translator who speaks Spanish and English is available during these sessions. We typically also have staff on hand who speak French.

Integration Meeting

At the beginning of your journey at Nihue Rao, you will have a private meeting with maestro Ricardo Amaringo to discuss your personal intentions and healing journey. Participants who stay ten days or longer will receive a traditional master medicinal plant treatment.

Additionally, prior to your first ceremony, maestro Ricardo Amaringo leads a collective meeting to the grups to introduce to the shamanic world of the ayahuasca healing ceremony and answer participants’ questions. Maestro Ricardo Amaringo also typically facilitates post-ceremony meetings three days a week. During these meetings, participants may share experiences and visions from the ceremony and get feedback and advice from Ricardo (click here to watch a testimonial video sample).

Throughout your time at Nihue Rao, participants keep in touch with an experienced international team of staff members who speak English, French, and/or Spanish. You can share your experiences, ask advice, or receive individualized guidance and care at any time. All staff members are experienced and are trained by Ricardo.

Medicine Plant Treatment

Nihue Rao is a modern plant medicinal healing center that follows the principles and wisdom of traditional shamanic Shipibo knowledge. A journey at Nihue Rao starts with a personal meeting with Maestro Ricardo Amaringo, who prescribes a complete individualized healing process, often with a traditional medicinal plant. (click here to watch our plant remedies video presentation).

Purgative Plants

The day before the first ceremony, participants drink a preliminary traditional remedy called a purgative. This remedy cleans the stomach and the body, frequently causing vomiting, and is necessary in order to receive the ayahuasca brew properly. It’s a preparation of two traditional Shipibo medicinal plants. These plants are a lily called Acuzena, which is combined with sap of a tree called Oje. (click here to watch our purgative video presentation).

Flower Bath

Twice a week, we prepare a natural flower bath made with a selection of several perfumed plants. These plants clean the energetic body field and attract good energy for the ceremony and diet. The flower bath can help to attract love and luck in life (click here to watch our Flower bath video presentation).

Vapor Bath

For certain health conditions and strong spiritual disorders, our shaman may prescribe a powerful treatment known as a vapor or steam bath. This bath is a mixture of various traditional medicinal plants or the bark of trees that is boiled together. The vapors from the bath deeply cleanse the body and the mind.

Cataplasm

For local pain or certain health conditions, our shaman may prescribe a topical application of various medicinal plants. This external cataplasm may be prescribed for several days during your journey.

Master Plants

Guests at Nihue Rao who stay with us for ten days or longer are typically prescribed medicine treatment with a traditional Shipibo master plant to improve the spiritual and physical healing power of the Ayahuasca. Below is a list and brief description of many of the plants our Maestro commonly prescribes for treatment.

Piñon Blanco

Piñon Blanco is used to straighten the energies of the body, mind, and soul. It connects a dieter to the light. It is often prescribed for a first general and complete cleaning and for opening spiritual connection.

Oje

Oje is a powerful tree that brings a lot of light and strong medicine. Excellent for cleaning the mind and the body from the residual contaminations of all types of drugs and strong addictions.

Ajo Sacha

Ajo sacha opens the heart and improves the quality of relationships in one’s life. It can also be used to clean and heal the blood, the nerves, and any type of addictions and drugs.

Marosa

Marosa is a plant of love. It is prescribed to connect oneself to one’s own feelings and emotions and to open the heart. Marosa is also good for increasing self-confidence.

Coca

Coca is the sacred plant of the Incas. It connects a dieter to Incan medicine and to the light. Coca also strengthens the body and clears the mind.

Chai Pei

Chai Pei is the plant of the spiritual traveler. Chai is ideal for discovering different spiritual worlds and providing protection. It is also good for healing stomach ulcers and migraines.

Aire Shacha Cosmica

This medicinal plant comes from the cosmos. Aire Sacha Cosmica connects a dieter to cosmic medicine, doctors, and spirits.

Piri Piri

Piri piri is used to find a love and to find a partner. Typically it is taken as a bath treatments or prepared in perfums.

Chiric Sanango

This powerful master medicinal plant connects a dieter to the medicine and to the natural world. Chiric Sanango teaches shamanic medicine and helps eliminate body pain.

Bobinsana

Bobinsana is a plant that provides strong protection. It is considered ideal to strengthen one’s energies. Bobinsana can connect a person to his or her own medicine and heal physical body pain, joints, and cold.

Piñon Colorado

Piñon Colorado is a plant that opens the world of dreams. It is also good for healing physical pain of the body, as well as the mind and emotions. Typically participants receive treatment with Pinon colorado through cataplasm and steam bath.

Toe

Toe is a plant that opens the visions and teaches the medicine. It is a plant only available for extremely motivated or advanced dieters looking for deep shamanic training. Toe is only given as a long-term diet, for 6 months to a year, minimum.

Nihue Rao

Nihue Rao is the center’s namesake, and a sacred master plant to our shaman, Maestro Ricardo Amaringo. It connects a dieter deeply to the powerful spirits of the Shipibo medicine and teaches knowledge of the cosmos, divine light, peace, and love. Nihue Rao is available to advanced dieters and shamanic apprentices who wish to study shamanism. It is only given as a long-term diet only, from 6 months to year, minimum.

Ayahuma

Ayahuma is a powerful tree that is excellent for cleaning strong negative energies. Ideal in a learning diet for learning the medicine, opening the world of Ayahuasca, enhancing visions, receiving light, and teaching songs, or ikaros. It may also be prescribed as part of a vapor bath. For learning dieters, ayahuma is only prescribed as a medium or long-term diet, from 3 months to one year. No minimum is necessary for a healing diet.

Other powerful trees or plants may also be prescribed by our Maestro. Each plant has its own particular skills and healing abilities. Some of these plants include Huairacaspi, Catahua, Chiwawako, Cumaceba, Estoraki, Ajos Kilo, Chuchuasi, Ishpingo, Tamamuri, Abuta, Uvos, Ecoja, Uña De Gato, Boahuasca... and many others. Dependent on availability, please inquire if you are interesting in diet this plants or anothers...